Utility trailers that can be folded up during periods of non-use for compact storage are well known. Such trailers are taught in prior art U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,941,542 and 2,469,506.
While such trailers provide the benefit of requiring reduced storage space when compared to the trailer in its normal configuration, the weight and other aspects of such prior art trailers make storage within a vehicle, such as in the bed of a pick-up truck or in the back of a station wagon, impractical.
Further, such prior art trailers are awkward for positioning into and securing within the vehicle.
It is often the case that a trailer is needed during only a portion of a journey in a vehicle, or that a trailer is needed at unforeseen times. Yet towing a trailer at all times just to be prepared for that occasional need is not practical, safe, or convenient.
There exists therefore a heretofore unsolved need to provide a trailer which can be hitched to a vehicle for use, and which can carry a substantial payload during use, yet which can be simply and quickly reconfigured following use into a shape and size capable of fitting within the vehicle, and which can be easily and conveniently moved from its use position into its storage position in the vehicle without undue burden or strain and which can be conveniently secured there.
Additionally, trailers of the prior art lack convenient adaptability to varying types of uses.
There exists therefore a heretofore unsolved need to provide a trailer as described above which may be easily and conveniently adapted into a variety of configurations according to the type of use required, without tools or complicated reassembly techniques.
Additionally the means for compacting such prior art trailers as mentioned above are cumbersome and complex.
There exists therefore a heretofore unsolved need to provide a trailer as described above which simplifies the means for folding and compacting the trailer during conversion from its use configuration to its storage configuration.
These and other needs, drawbacks and omissions in the prior art are addressed by a trailer and system according to the present invention.